Professional background: CPA, 12 years; 18 years, controller, CFO and COO, various industries, public and private companies, revenues less than $1 million to $1 billion-plus; commercial real estate, 8 years

Political/community experience: Led Rotary Club of Denver (2011 centennial year), Food Bank of the Rockies (1994-1995), and Colorado Chapter of Financial Executives International (2000-2001)

Education: BS-Accounting, 1975, CU-Boulder

Name a person you admire and explain why: No one person; my values are integrity, logic, listening, fairness and humor

Under current projections, without a voter-approved tax increase, improvements needed to provide FasTracks' Northwest Corridor commuter passenger rail service into Boulder County and Longmont won't be completed until 2044. What are you proposing to accelerate that schedule or otherwise address that situation?

There are no silver bullets. Overall, the current plans are not realistic. Further RTD has not been very effective in soliciting and considering input from north end communities in developing these plans so there is little reason to believe that existing plans serve the north end very well. Accordingly, as distasteful as further study is, RTD must update its analysis of the transit needs of the north end to develop logical solutions. Nevertheless, to the extent that communities have relied on the plans that RTD already has in place, we must be very careful to avoid altering those plans in such a way as to render worthless significant investments that have already been made. Further, any significant changes in those plans should be put to a vote of at least those Districts affected.

What non-FasTracks transit changes or improvements are needed in District I?

RTD operates a spoke and hub system, which provides reasonably good service for those wanting to get to downtown Denver from most anywhere in RTD's service area. In Boulder, because of significant city subsidies, it also provides reasonably good intracity service. Elsewhere in the metro area, however, there is virtually no intracity service (excluding Denver), or intercity service for that matter. RTD's No. 1 focus at this time must be FasTracks on the north end, but once we get that effort well established, RTD must explore adding some circles to the system. This will create funding and other challenges, but it will help communities relieve traffic congestion and therefore minimize their needs to improve local streets and roads.

Why would you be the voters' best choice for this seat?

I bring a unique business-centric skill-set to this position. My combination of financial and operating management expertise in a variety of industries coupled with recent commercial real estate experience uniquely positions me to serve RTD. These are the disciplines most relevant to serving as an effective RTD director. I see my lack of transit experience as a plus. Having learned a variety of industries, I have found that being an "outsider" offers the advantages of being unencumbered by the conventional wisdom of the industry, allowing me to offer more creative solutions. Please visit patterson4rtd.com for more information.

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